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2007 - The Treaty of Lisbon

Summary

Lisbon is the capital of Portugal. As is the custom in international law, the name of the host city at which A treaty is successfully negotiated forms part of the permanent name of that treaty. The Treaty of Lisbon was signed on December 13, 2007. It came into force on December 1, 2009.

The Treaty of Lisbon is a lot of things and it is by far one of the most important documents and international law especially in regards to the European Union. The EU describes the Treaty of Lisbon1 in general terms as follows:

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union was proclaimed in Nice in December 2000. It is
now legally binding thanks to the Treaty of Lisbon, which came into force on 1 December 2009. The
Charter sets out all the rights recognised today by the EU’s Member States and their citizens. Shared rights
and values create a feeling of kinship between Europeans. To take just one example, all EU countries
have abolished the death penalty....

"To enable it to face the complex challenges of the 21st century, the enlarged EU needed a simpler and more efficient method for taking its joint decisions. New rules had been proposed in a draft EU Constitution, signed in October 2004, which would have replaced all the existing treaties. But this text was rejected by two national referendums in 2005. "The Constitution was therefore replaced by the Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed on 13 December 2007 and came into force on 1 December 2009. It amends but does not replace the

previous treaties, and it introduces most of the changes that featured in the Constitution. For example, it gives the European Council a permanent President and creates the post of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

"European integration has always been a political and economic process, open to all European countries that are prepared to sign up to the Treaties and take on board the full body of EU law. According to the Lisbon Treaty (§49), any European state may apply to become a member of the European Union provided it respects the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law."

Text of the Treaty

TREATY OF LISBON AMENDING THE TREATY ON EUROPEAN UNION AND THE TREATY ESTABLISHING THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY ((2007/C 306/01))

DESIRING to complete the process started by the Treaty of Amsterdam and by the Treaty of Nice with a view to enhancing the efficiency and democratic legitimacy of the Union and to improving the coherence of its action,

HAVE RESOLVED to amend the Treaty on European Union, the Treaty establishing the European Community and the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and to this end have designated as their Plenipotentiaries:

Article 1
The Treaty on European Union shall be amended in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

PREAMBLE
1) The preamble shall be amended as follows:
(a) the following text shall be inserted as the second recital:
‘DRAWING INSPIRATION from the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of
Europe, from which have developed the universal values of the inviolable and inalienable
rights of the human person, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law,’;
(b) In the seventh, which shall become the eighth, recital, the words ‘of this Treaty’ shall be
replaced by ‘of this Treaty and of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,’;
(c) In the eleventh, which shall become the twelfth, recital, the words ‘of this Treaty’ shall be
replaced by ‘of this Treaty and of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,’.

GENERAL PROVISIONS
2) Article 1 shall be amended as follows:

(a) the following words shall be inserted at the end of the first paragraph:
"... on which the Member States confer competences to attain objectives they have in common.";

(b) the third paragraph shall be replaced by the following: "‘The Union shall be founded on the present Treaty and on the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as “the Treaties”). Those two Treaties shall have the same legal value. The Union shall replace and succeed the European Community.".

The following Article 1a shall be inserted:

‘Article 1a. The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism,
non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail.’.

Article 2 shall be replaced by the following:

Article 2. 1. The Union's aim is to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples.
2. The Union shall offer its citizens an area of freedom, security and justice without
internal frontiers, in which the free movement of persons is ensured in conjunction with
appropriate measures with respect to external border controls, asylum, immigration and the
prevention and combating of crime.

3. The Union shall establish an internal market. It shall work for the sustainable
development of Europe based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly
competitive social market economy, aiming at full employment and social progress, and a high
level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment. It shall promote
scientific and technological advance.

It shall combat social exclusion and discrimination, and shall promote social justice and
protection, equality between women and men, solidarity between generations and protection
of the rights of the child.

4. The Union shall establish an economic and monetary union whose currency is the euro.
5. In its relations with the wider world, the Union shall uphold and promote its values and
interests and contribute to the protection of its citizens. It shall contribute to peace, security,
the sustainable development of the Earth, solidarity and mutual respect among peoples, free
and fair trade, eradication of poverty and the protection of human rights, in particular the
rights of the child, as well as to the strict observance and the development of international law,
including respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter. The Union shall pursue its objectives by appropriate means commensurate with the competences which are conferred upon it in the Treaties.

Article 3 shall be repealed, and the following Article 3a shall be inserted:

"Article 3a 1. In accordance with Article 3b, competences not conferred upon the Union in the
Treaties remain with the Member States.

2. The Union shall respect the equality of Member States before the Treaties as well as their
national identities, inherent in their fundamental structures, political and constitutional,
inclusive of regional and local self-government. It shall respect their essential State functions,
including ensuring the territorial integrity of the State, maintaining law and order and
safeguarding national security. In particular, national security remains the sole responsibility of
each Member State.

3. Pursuant to the principle of sincere cooperation, the Union and the Member States shall,
in full mutual respect, assist each other in carrying out tasks which flow from the Treaties.
The Member States shall take any appropriate measure, general or particular, to ensure
fulfilment of the obligations arising out of the Treaties or resulting from the acts of the
institutions of the Union. The Member States shall facilitate the achievement of the Union's tasks and refrain from any measure which could jeopardise the attainment of the Union's objectives."

6) The following Article 3b shall be inserted, replacing Article 5 of the Treaty establishing the
European Community:

Article 3b. 1. The limits of Union competences are governed by the principle of conferral. The use of Union competences is governed by the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.
2. Under the principle of conferral, the Union shall act only within the limits of the
competences conferred upon it by the Member States in the Treaties to attain the objectives set
out therein. Competences not conferred upon the Union in the Treaties remain with the
Member States.

3. Under the principle of subsidiarity, in areas which do not fall within its exclusive
competence, the Union shall act only if and insofar as the objectives of the proposed action
cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, either at central level or at regional and
local level, but can rather, by reason of the scale or effects of the proposed action, be better
achieved at Union level.

The institutions of the Union shall apply the principle of subsidiarity as laid down in the
Protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. National
Parliaments ensure compliance with the principle of subsidiarity in accordance with the
procedure set out in that Protocol.

4. Under the principle of proportionality, the content and form of Union action shall not
exceed what is necessary to achieve the objectives of the Treaties.

C 306/12 EN Official Journal of the European Union 17.12.2007

The institutions of the Union shall apply the principle of proportionality as laid down in the
Protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.’.

7) Articles 4 and 5 shall be repealed.

8) Article 6 shall be replaced by the following:

"Article 61. The Union recognises the rights, freedoms and principles set out in the Charter of
Fundamental Rights of the European Union of 7 December 2000, as adapted at Strasbourg, on
12 December 2007, which shall have the same legal value as the Treaties.
The provisions of the Charter shall not extend in any way the competences of the Union as
defined in the Treaties.
The rights, freedoms and principles in the Charter shall be interpreted in accordance with the
general provisions in Title VII of the Charter governing its interpretation and application and
with due regard to the explanations referred to in the Charter, that set out the sources of those
provisions.2. The Union shall accede to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights
and Fundamental Freedoms. Such accession shall not affect the Union's competences as defined
in the Treaties.3. Fundamental rights, as guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and as they result from the constitutional traditions
common to the Member States, shall constitute general principles of the Union's law.’"

PROTOCOLS TO BE ANNEX ED TO THE TREATY OF LISBON. 9) The following Protocols shall be repealed: (....)

(h) Protocol on protection and welfare of animals (1997), the text of which shall become Article 6b of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Duhaime Lawisms

Unless otherwise noted, this article was written by Lloyd Duhaime, Barrister, Solicitor, Attorney and Lawyer (and Notary Public!). It is not intended to be legal advice and you would be foolhardy to rely on it in respect to any specific situation you or an acquaintance may be facing. In addition, the law changes rapidly and sometimes with little notice so from time to time, an article may not be up to date. Therefore, this is merely legal information designed to educate the reader. If you have a real situation, this information will serve as a good springboard to get legal advice from a lawyer.